1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a glossing apparatus used in an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic system copying machine and electrophotographic system printer, particularly to a glossing apparatus which can form an image having different gloss levels.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, for the glossing apparatus which can form images having the different gloss levels, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-325934 discloses a glossing apparatus in which, using a fixing belt including a plurality of areas with different degrees of smoothness, the area of the fixing belt used can be selected according to the desired gloss level of the image.
However, in the glossing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-325934, the fixing belt having a length more than double the largest recording material which can be used is required to be able to form the image having the high-gloss and low-gloss levels, which results in an inevitably enlarged apparatus.